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Monday, April 30, 2012

After their exciting adventure crossing the LaHave River, Flat Chris, Flat Stella, Flat Luke and Ms Flat headed to Lunenburg. In 1995, "Old Town" Lunenburg was added to the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage List. It is the second urban community in Continental North America to be included on this list (the other is old Quebec City).

Flat Stella, Ms Flat, Flat Chris, and Flat Luke with the town of Lunenburg in the background

One of the streets in the middle of town has been nicknamed "Unesco Fresco" because of the very colourful buildings.

this street has been nicknamed "Unesco Fresco"

The Fishermen's Memorial is located on the waterfront. The monument is
shaped as a compass rose, and comprises eight three-sided columns at
each compass point. Inscribed on these black granite columns are the
names of mariners, primarily fishermen from Lunenburg County, who lost
their lives at sea from 1890 until the present.

standing in front of the Fisherman's Memorial

The middle column is inscribed with these words: "Dedicated to the memory of those who have gone down to the sea in ships and who have never returned and as a tribute to those who continue to occupy their business in the great waters."

oh no! are our flat visitors going to jail???

What have our flat visitors done? We found them on the truck for the Old Lunenburg Jail! Oh no! What will happen now? Will their next adventure be behind bars? Stay tuned!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Today our Flat Stanley visitors are crossing the mightly LaHave River!View Larger MapNo...they are not going to swim! They are going to take the ferry.

Ms Flat, Flat Chris, Flat Stella and Flat Luke wait for the ferry

a view of the cable with the ferry in the distance. The ferry has just left the other side.

can you see the cable in the water in front of the ferry?

the ferry arrives, lowers the ramp, and the cars drive off

the cars are all loaded, and the ferry heads out

The Brady E. Himmelman is 27 metres long and 12.8 metres wide and can carry 14 full-size cars. The ferry was named after Captain Himmelman, who carried on a family tradition of ferrying across the LaHave River. He retired in 1982.

a view of the LaHave Bakery from the ferry...this is where the Flat People ate lunch

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Today's adventure with our flat visitors took us to Bush Cove, where we learned a little bit about lobster fishing. Our first photograph was taken next to the lobster traps. You must have a license to fish for lobsters, and you must use a trap.On the South Shore of Nova Scotia, lobster season is from late November or early December until May.

Ms Flat , Flat Chris, Flat Luke, and Flat Stella visit Bush Cove

Here are some buoys. Each lobster boat has their own colour of buoys to mark where their traps are.

An old anchor is decoration by the private wharf:

The wooden lobster traps are the original kind of trap used. The rectangular wire traps are the newer kind. Some lobster fishermen are starting to use the wooden traps again because they are easier to fix.

Here is William holding Flat Luke and Ms Flat, and Simon holding Flat Chris and Flat Stella. The boat behind the boys is called "Simon's Pride" and is named after Simon.

Here is a short video about lobster fishing for our flat visitors to share with their class:

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

This is for John, who is always after me to get out my camera. I'm glad I have him to share my love of nature with. Both of us really enjoy watching our backyard birds, and a favourite is the purple finch.

Flat Stella, Flat Chris, Flat Luke, and Ms Flat made a visit to Fort Point. They all tried to imagine that it was 1604, and they looked out to the ocean to see Samuel de Champlain standing on a ship waving to them. He made lots of maps and he helped the people who lived in Europe understand more about the "new land". Champlain didn't stay long, but he helped King Louis XIII choose this site to be the
First Capital of New France.

There are lots and lots of lighthouses in Nova Scotia. The original lighthouse at Fort Point helped passing ships from 1876 until it was torn down in 1954. The lighthouse guided great four-masted sailing ships in
and out of the LaHave River.
Loaded with lumber, fish, and other goods,
they delivered their cargoes
to merchants in New England, the West Indies,
Europe, even as far
away as New Zealand.

In 1632, a fort with 25 cannon was built. These cannons are at the museum to show us what the cannons might have looked like.

The fort was destroyed by fire in 1654 and
lay in ruins for many generations. The stones that the fort was made of got taken away and now there is a museum to help us understand how life used to be.

There are apple trees at Fort Point. In 1701, Simon Denys de Bonnaventure wrote
that he had
drunk cider made from the fruit of apple
trees.

Just past this apple tree is a path leading to a small beach. It has lots of stones, and is a great place to beach comb for beach glass. Flat Stella, Flat Luke, Flat Chris, and Ms Flat all found a piece of beach glass to take back to Toronto!

There are a lot of beautiful beaches on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. "Which beach should we visit?" said Sara. "Let's go to a beach with lots of sand!" all the Flat People shouted.
So that's what we did!

Crescent Beach is a 2 km long, crescent-shaped beach in Lunenburg County. It has very white sand, and is lots of fun to walk and play on.

We made sand castles, and looked for sea shells. Sometimes you can find sand dollars on the beach, but not today.

Lots of people walk their dogs on the beach, and go windsurfing in the water.

And you can do something at Crescent Beach that you can't do on very many beaches in Nova Scotia. You can drive on the beach!